Houmas House Plantation and Gardens
| Address: | 40136 LA-942, Darrow, LA 70725, USA |
| Phone: | +1 225-473-9380 |
| Site: | houmashouse.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
JE
Jes Sorensen
Tasteless, Tacky, and Disrespectful! Those are the three words that best describe this place. We went at the end of the day, and did the garden visit rather than the tour of the house, as it was too late. We also watched the presentation video they have running next to the ticket counter, which was done in 2004 and clearly hadnt been updated to look nice on a flat panel TV. The whole place is all about glorifying the previous owners while doing nothing to show respect for the people who suffered for creation of the place. It had exactly one side remark reference to the slaves being transferred there at one point in the video, and that was it. The gardens were rather tacky and badly documented. It was completely unclear which parts (if any) were the original layout or if it was all bad taste modern layout. The tacky metal insects etc. they had scattered around the place makes me believe the latter, but I could be wrong. The Japanese garden was the worst part, looking nothing like a real Japanese garden. It had a large pergola made out of steel, covered in fainted paint, with metal decorations in the railing looking like something from a cheap fairground. It was totally out of place. The Houmas House were charging $15 for garden visit tickets, but you had to constantly jump over wedding parties playing loud pop music while walking around the gardens, there were at least 3-4 of them lined up during our visit. Last the venue tried to wash its hands from the past by showing a small placard that they had donated a few pennies to The Whitney. This place is nothing but a wedding machine for people wanting to go to a fancy looking place pretending that the real history never existed. Showing off the glory of the former owners is fine, but doing so while sweeping the bad parts under the carpet, is both unethical and appalling. Just to cater for a crowd continuing to live in denial. If you want to visit a plantation house, go somewhere else!
SH
Sherry Nickels
Be good to yourself and skip the abuse. Dont go here. Firstly, when our tour guide found out that my friend was from Ohio, we felt like he singled her out as a northerner and took advantage of the opportunity to tout the virtues of slavery. Several times he claimed that the situation of the black individual under slavery was far superior. We were too polite to interrupt the tour for others by objecting, but we found his slant outrageous. He "went there" 4-5 times, so it was obvious to us, that he was scolding the northerner for being ignorant to the wonderful world that had existed in the south prior to emancipation, including for slaves (LOL). After our eye-opening tour, we went to the Turtle Bar. The bartender, John, making small talk, asked where we were from. When we told him that we were originally from WV, he promptly insulted us 2-3 times; including the statement: "try not to steal anything." I was honor bound to suggest that coming from a Cajun, it was rich. But I didnt want to be put in this position. It didnt seem to be in jest, even if it was intended to be. Id think that people who work in the hospitality industry could, at the very least, try not to be offensive. The whole experience left me less than impressed with southern hospitality.
MO
Morgan Reel
The bar alone is worth the drive from NOLA or Baton Rouge, but you can also tour this opulent and beautiful plantation. My husband and I were the only ones on the tour it was like getting a private showing of the house and grounds. Our guide John was very knowledgeable and friendly. The tour focused mainly on the history of the mansion itself and didnt get too in depth on the slave history which was unfortunate. If you dont want to do the tour, you can bypass the gift shop and just head to the Turtle Bar where you can get a craft cocktail made to perfection. My husband visited about four years ago and has talked about the amazing cocktails there ever since and was not disappointed on our return visit. We had a sazerac, mint julep, and tried a bit of their house whiskey. All were delicious. Wished we could have stayed for another round, but its about an hour back to the city. If you are looking for history maybe do the tour at Laura, but certainly make your way to Houmas if you want to see an even wealthier example of plantation life.
TE
TeNeil Hartley
This review is for our overall experience including the tour and lunch. The house and grounds are gorgeous and if you love just looking at antiques you will love the tour. If you are expecting to get a good overall historical picture of plantations in Louisiana, there are other places I would recommend. Although our tour guide was a wonderful, cheery young lady. If we had stopped at the tour, I would have given it four stars; however, we unfortunately had lunch at the on site restaurant. The hostess was less than welcoming and our server was rather rude. In addition to the poor front of house service, a guest in our party, who ordered at the same time we all did, received her meal 10 minutes after the rest of us. The server also gave us our bill before ever asking if we wanted dessert, which we did, or any additional beverages. To top it off, the food was simply average. Certainly not worth putting up with the terrible service for. I would recommend finding an authentic local place nearby.
TA
Tammy Wik
Houmas House Plantation is a worthwhile look at a plantation house and its incredible gardens. The home is currently occupied and the tour guide provided a fascinating description of the history of the home, the plantation, and some of the objects in the home. This tour focuses on the house and the plantation owners, largely glossing over the part of slavery in these homes. If youre interested in the stories of the slaves, the Whitney Plantation has an incredible tour, which I also recommend and is not redundant to this one. Apparently, this plantation also has an incredible restaurant, which unfortunately I was unable to try. However, if you know youll be doing this tour, it is an absolutely gorgeous location (a wedding was being prepared there for after hours), and it would be a wonderful backdrop for dinner. Definitely a tour I would recommend.
EM
Emilie Escallier
Il ne faut pas s attendre à une plantation comme les autres.Elle n a rien a voir avec oak alley,laura,evergreen ou les autres. Elle a été rachetée en 2003 et à été rénovée et des jardins ont été ajoutés . Il n y pas de cases d esclaves, la cuisine à été rajoutée récemment pour être collé à la maison... Le gros intérêt reste les jardins qui sont très sympa mais non authentique. D ailleurs il est possible de ne visiter que les jardins.
NG
Nguyet Nguyen
This is my heaven on Earth! Only did the garden admission (which is $10/adult). The garden admission is more than enough. The grounds are meticulously taken care of. The prices for the other things were too steep for me (Im a college student on a budget!) BUT if youre not on a budget, I would recommend paying for the house and garden admission because that money goes toward maintaining the beauty of the place. There is a cute tree swing which is a great photo op. The garden is pretty big, so dont rush through it. Pack a lunch and enjoy the day there! I rented a car and drove there, but if you dont have the means, there are plenty of tours. I love this place so much and would recommend this place to everybody. Slow down, smell the flowers, and enjoy easy living. Parking at the plantation is free!
